Mohammed Shami’s India comeback in danger after Kolkata T20I snub, pacer set to miss out….
Mohammed Shami is set to warm the bench as India and England lock horns in the ongoing five-match T20I.
The veteran fast bowler has been called up to the Indian team after a gap of over a year. Mohammad Shami has been sidelined for almost a year after suffering an ankle injury during the 2023 World Cup. He carried the injury and played the tournament and finished the tournament with the highest wicket by showing an amazing performance.
But he had to pay a heavy price for not dealing with the damage in time. The right-arm batsman had to undergo surgery and was sidelined for months, forcing him to miss the IPL as well as the Test series against England, New Zealand and Australia.
Mohammed Shami finally returned to competitive cricket in November last year after an almost complete hiatus. He represented Bengal in domestic cricket. After proving fit for the match, Packer was finally called up by the selectors for the upcoming series against England.
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Mohammad Shami unlikely for Chennai T20I:
Many expected Mohammed Shami to play in five T20Is against England. However, the Indian team management sprung a big surprise earlier this week when he opted not to include him in the playing eleven for the first T20I at Eden Gardens.
As it was confirmed that Mohammed Shami would not play the first T20I, many feared that the pacer was completely unfit. However, Indian opener Abhishek Sharma later downplayed those fears, saying his senior teammate did not play the match due to conditions and combinations.
“I feel it was a decision of the management of the team and they thought it was the best option considering these circumstances.” Abhishek said at the post-match press conference.
And while fans are hoping that Shami will play his second T20I in Chennai, it seems unlikely now. According to RevSportz, the fast bowler may miss out again. While the news outlet did not reveal the exact reason behind the decision, the speedsters might not get the chance due to the situation in Chennai.
Rest – Shami may miss two T20 matches from here – Chennai looks tough – Let’s wait for Rajkot
– Rohit Juglan Rohit Juglan (@rohitjuglan) January 23, 2025
The position has traditionally helped the spinners more and India are expected to play the same combination of one front-line pacer and two spinners.
Meanwhile, India did not miss much as they beat England by 7 wickets in the first T20I to take the lead in the series. Asked to bat first, England were all out by 132 runs. Jos Buttler scored 68 off 44 balls.
Varun Chakraborty claimed 3 wickets for India while Arshdeep Singh, Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel picked up 2 wickets each. Into bat, India chased down Abhishek’s whirlwind knock in a total of 13 overs. The southpaw smashed 79 balls with the help of 5 fours and 8 sixes.